Convertible child&#39;s chair



May 19, 1964 A. A. ROSS 3,133,761

F CONVERTIBLE CHILD'S CHAIR le gl3 22 Filed April 3, 1963 FIG.

FIG. 4

FIG. 2

FIG. 5

INVENTOR. ALBERT A. ROSS FIG. 3

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,133,761 C(IBNVERTIBLE CHILDS CHAIR Albert A. Ross, 1044 E. 6th St., Salem, ()hio Filed Apr. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 270,349 1 Claim. (Ql. 297-174) This invention relates to a convertible childs chair and more particularly to a portable safety seat for a child which may readily be associated with a tabletop or the like or with its own flat member to provide a tray-like surface immediately in front of the child seated in the device. The conventional childs highchair has rather tall supporting legs to facilitate feeding and otherwise attending the child and to elevate the child substantially to shoulder height of adults when the latter are seated around a dinner table, for example. This makes the highchair too bulky for ready transport when the family desires to dine away from home. Also, the height of the legs and the concentration of weight in the seat of the conventional highchair makes these chairs unstable and dangerous to use on uneven surfaces, including lawns.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a childs chair which is quite small in maximum dimension, thereby readily transportable but which may nevertheless be detachably secured to a projecting edge portion of a conventional tabletop for use at picnic gatherings, in homes and restaurants having no conventional highchairs, etc. It is a further object of the invention to provide a convertible childs seat of this nature which can be alternately used, if desired, and a conventional adults chair or on the seats of automobiles, for example, and when so used is provided with its own detachable tray located horizontally in front of the seated child.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following specification and the accompanying drawing wherein there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a chair or seat structure constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the device being shown as attached to an edge portion of a conventional tabletop;

FIGURE 2 is a front View of the chair structure of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the chair structure of FIGURE 1 as assembled on a conventional adults chair and having its own individual removable tray;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of the tray and chair side arms of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of one of the lower side arms used in the chairs of FIGURES 1-4.

The apparatus of my invention may be embodied in various different specific designs, and may be constructed of various materials such as wood, metal, plastic or a combination of such materials. For illustration purposes only, the drawing shows a unit fabricated of wood according to more or less standard chair or seat manufacturing procedures.

Basically, the units consists of a seat from the back edge of which rises a back structure 11 which, as shown, slopes slightly back from the seat 10. Rigidly secured to the side edges of the back structure 11 are two horizontal, substantially parallel, and forwardly extending upper side arms 12 and 131. Bracing these arms are side panels 14 and 15 which may conveniently be made of plywood and which are rigidly connected to the arms 12, 13 as well as to the back structure 11 and the seat Ill. To effect the connection certain of the edge portions of the panels may be tightly received in grooves cut into the surfaces of the parts 10 through 13, all as will be well understood by those familiar with the wood furnituremaking art and as shown in the drawings. The undersides of the forward portions of the arms 12 and 13 are overlaid with a sheet 16 of a suitable non-skid and nonmarring material such as finely ribbed rubber sheeting, for example.

Pivotally mounted as at 17 to rear portions of the side panels 15 are a pair of lower side arms 18 and 19, the plan for the left arm 19 being shown in FIGURE 5. It will be understood that the plan for arm 18 is identical but of opposite hand. Each of the arms 18 and 19 has a cut out portion 20 to receive the side panels 14, 15, and an elongated aperture 21 is formed in each of the arms 18 and 19 intermediate the ends thereof, as indicated in FIGURE 5.

Depending downwardly through each of the upper arms 12 and 13 is a carriage bolt 22, the flat head of which is on the upper sides of these arms. These bolts 22 extend down through the elongated apertures 21 of the lower arms 18 and 19, and engaging the bottom threaded end portions of the bolts are hand grip nuts 23. While these latter may be simply conventional wing nuts, I prefer that they be of the hand grip typei.e. having an elongated wooden body with a bore therethrough in which is tightly received a threaded metal nut member.

It should now be apparent that the upper and lower side arms of the chair structure together with the bolts 22 and the nuts 23 provide a pair of rugged clamps, the jaws of which may be slid over an edge portion of a tabletop such as shown at 24 in FIGURE 1. The parts are so dimensioned that the jaws of these clamps overreach a substantial portion of the tabletop while yet sufficient distance remains between the outer edge of the tabletop and the back structure 11 to accommodate the body of a child and to permit him to be lifted into and out of the seat. The friction material 16 prevents outward sliding movement of the arms with respect to the tabletop when the arms are tightly clamped by tightening up the nuts 23. To provide adequate hand room when gripping the nuts 23 the side panels 14 and 15 may be cut away along their forward edges as indicated at 23'. The material 16 is very rigidly and permanently attached to the arms 12 and 13 by the application of a highstrength and permanent adhesive such as epoxy resin. It should be noted that the points of pivotal attachment of the lower arms 18 and 19 are forward of the back structure 11 and substantially below the top arms 12 and 13 so that the lower arms angle upwardly into clamping relation with the bottom of the tabletop 24. The purpose of this is to permit use of the chair with tabletops of varying thickness and on tabletops having edge moldings as is common in chrome-legged dinette sets or restaurant tables, for example. With the chair applied as illustrated in FIGURE 1 a child may be safely seated about the edge of the table and can use a portion of the tabletop as his tray for eating and playing. The downward force of the childs weight on the seat 10 is effectively resisted by the inherent cantilever strength of the fiat member making up the seat and by the bracing action of the side panels 14 and 15 which, of course, are rigidly and permanently attached to the seat 10 along a substantial longitudinal extent as is apparent from the drawings.

While the chair unit as disclosed in FIGURES 1 and 2 is primarily intended for use with the home, restaurant or picnic table, it has further utility when used on any suitable supporting surface such as a conventional adults chair as suggested in FIGURE 3. Suitable objects may be placed between the conventional chair seat and the chair seat of the invention to elevate the latter as desired, but in either case a suitable clamping device or a restraining strip such as shown schematically at 25 should be used as a safety precaution as will be understood. In FIGURE 3 the conventional adults chair is designated by reference numeral 26.

When used apart from an existing tabletop a separate tray 27 may be provided and held in proper relation to the seat and the upper arms 12 and 13 by the lower clamping arms 18 and 19. For extra rigidity the side edge portions of this separate tray 27 are rabbetted as shown at 28 to receive the lower inner edges of the upper side arms 12 and 13. The friction material 16 effectively prevents sliding movement of the tray 27 in either longitudinal direction along the arms 12 and 13. To facilitate the seating and removal of a child from the unit the nuts 23 may be left loose when the chair is unoccupied permitting the ready removal of the tray 27 thus opening up the chair for easier placing of the child after which the tray 27 may be slid into position and tightened by the clamping arms 18 and 19. In this connection it should also be noted that when the device of the invention is to be used with an existing tabletop a child may be first placed in the chair when separate from the table and the combination of the child and chair brought to the table edge with two handsthe arrangement of the lower clamping arms being such that the clamps are normally open thus permitting the forward portion of the arms 12 and 13 to slide over the tabletop. When this is accomplished a substantial portion of the weight of the combined child and chair is transferred to the tabletop and it is very easy to steady the chair with one hand while the other hand is tightening the clamps.

It should now be apparent that I have provided an improved convertible childs chair which accomplishes the objects initially set out above. The essential apparatus may be of simple and inexpensive design, and of reasonable over-all dimension as well as of light weight whereby it may be readily carried by one hand for transport to and from a motor vehicle, for example. Nevertheless, it has wide utility in the home or restaurant, at a picnic gathering where a table may be available for dining and also in the motor vehicle itself. It should be further apparent that many changes may be made in the design, construction, and materials of the device without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, it is readily obvious that quick-acting lever-type of clamping devices may be substituted for the simpler clamping bolts and nuts specifically disclosed if this is considered desirable. Reference should therefore be had to the appended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

A convertible childs chair adapted for alternate support on the edge portion of a table top or on a conventional chair comprising a seat, an upwardly and backwardly sloping back structure rigidly connected to the rear edge portion of said seat, a pair of side arms rigidly connected to and extending forwardly of side edge portions of said back structure above said seat and generally in parallelism therewith, a pair of clamping arms connected to said back structure and said side arms and having cantilevered forward portions for cooperating with the bottom surfaces of forward portions of said side arms to provide a pair of clamps to receive said edge portion of an existing table top or alternatively the side edge portions of a tray, said clamping arms being pivotally supported with respect to said back structure at their rear ends whereby said clamping arms may have upper and lower swinging movement with respect to said side arms, force-applying means interconnecting mid portions of said side arms and clamp arms to thereby apply clamping forces to the front end portions of said arms, and a tray having both flat and upstanding surfaces along its side edge portions for engaging said arms whereby said arms and tray may be clamped into a rigid structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 469,431 Bacon Feb. 23, 1892 1,337,103 Straith Apr. 3, 1920 1,886,963 Campbell July 12, 1932 2,489,084 Ducey Nov. 22, 1949 2,493,187 Ducey Ian. 2, 1950 2,707,987 Gibson May 10, 1955 2,710,643 Wincey et al June 14, 1955 2,875,816 Langefeld Mar. 3, 1959 3,052,500 Hyde Sept. 4, 1962 3,059,965 Fornetti Oct. 23, 1962 3,083,053 Dorsey Mar. 26, 1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 87,212 Denmark April 27, 1929 497,900 Italy Sept. 24, 1954 OTHER REFERENCES Bertshiner (German Application) 1,052,650, Mar. 12, 1959. 

